July 29, 2022
David Schaffer remembers sitting on his father’s lap as a child, curiously delving into science books and crafting mnemonic phrases that instilled in him the building blocks of biology. “He was a biochemist who would make up these silly rhymes that helped me remember microorganisms or parts of the body, like, ‘Your sternum can burn’em,’”…
July 26, 2022
Researchers have taken an important step toward understanding the microscopic battle that plays out between our lung cells and the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. A UC Berkeley-led study has identified specific proteins within our bodies that can promote or protect us from SARS-CoV-2 infections, potentially opening the door to new antiviral therapies. In the…
July 20, 2022
Phillip Geissler (1974-2022) A message from College of Chemistry Dean Douglas S. Clark: Our community has been jolted by the news that Professor Phillip Geissler, 48, has died. Phill was hiking in Utah at the time of his death. Phill was the Aldo De Benedictis Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and a renowned physical chemist, but…
July 12, 2022
David Schaffer is a professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Bioengineering, and Neuroscience. Schaffer’s applies engineering principles to enhance stem cell and gene therapy approaches for neuroregeneration. This work includes mechanistic investigation of stem cell control, as well as molecular evolution and engineering of viral gene delivery vehicles. In addition to his lab’s research, Schaffer…
July 06, 2022
The Board of Directors of The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience has announced the selection six neuroscientists(link is external) to receive the 2022 McKnight Scholar Award including Markita Landry, Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UC Berkeley. The McKnight Scholar Awards are granted to young scientists who are in the early stages of establishing their own independent…
June 30, 2022
Converting petroleum into fuels involves crude chemistry first invented by humans in the 1800s. Meanwhile, bacteria have been producing carbon-based energy molecules for billions of years. Which do you think is better at the job? Well aware of the advantages biology has to offer, a group of biofuel experts led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley…
June 29, 2022
Pancreatic cancer, though rare, is one of the deadliest of cancers, killing nearly 50,000 people yearly and doing so quickly, primarily because it metastasizes rapidly through the body. Barely one in 10 people survive beyond five years. But a discovery by chemists at the University of California, Berkeley, suggests a new way to slow or…
June 28, 2022
David Schaffer has been appointed the next executive director of QB3, the institute announced today. A professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, bioengineering, and molecular and cell biology, Schaffer holds over 50 patents; his lab’s research has spawned eight companies to commercialize stem cell and gene therapies. The appointment was made jointly by the chancellors…